The Real Reason We Call It 'Christmas'

We say the word "Christmas" all the time, but have you ever stopped to think about what it actually means? It turns out the name is a compressed history lesson, telling a story of how an ancient pagan festival was rebranded into the holiday we know today.

The first part is easy: "Christ" refers to Jesus Christ. The second part, "-mas," is where the real story lies. It's a shortened form of "mass," the church service celebrated in the Catholic church. Etymologically, "mass" traces back to the Latin word missa, which surprisingly means "dismissal."

This comes from the traditional closing words of the Latin Mass: "Ite, missa est," which translates to "Go, you are dismissed." So, in essence, Christmas is literally "Christ's Mass"—the specific church service held on the day associated with Christ's birth, December 25.

Over time, just as "St. Martin's Mass" was slurred into "Martinmas," the frequently spoken phrase "Christ's Mass" naturally fused into the single word "Christmas."

But here’s the twist: "Christmas" wasn't the original name for this time of year. Long before Christianity took root in medieval England, the winter solstice festival was known as "Yule" or "Yuletide," derived from the Old English pagan term geol. The name "Yule" is actually centuries older in this context. According to historical sources, the first known mention of "Christmas" dates to a text from the 11th century, while St. Bede referenced "Yule" in relation to the Christian holiday way back in the mid-700s.

So why did "Christmas" win out? As Christianity became the dominant cultural force in Europe, a name that overtly celebrated Jesus Christ was understandably seen as more fitting for the holiday. The older, pagan-influenced name "Yule" was gradually consigned to history, leaving us with the name and festivities we celebrate today.